CALGARY - It’s the kind of spell that only Harry Potter can weave, as thousands of Calgary fans lined up last night to get a copy of the seventh, and final, volume in the boy wizard’s saga.

A new Harry Potter book always means big hype, big crowds and big excitement for fans of all ages but the anticipation accompanying the latest release is the biggest buildup she’s seen for any book release, said Chinook Centre Chapters manager Tracey Walper.

“The excitement for this book is like nothing that I’ve ever seen in the past,” she said.

“And the age range ... they can be 13 or 14, or 30 or 40, they’re all excited.

“The excitement is because it is the last one in the series, the speculation on the Internet about who’s going to die and movies have played a major part.”

And then there’s the fact “kids, who are now adults, grew up with these books,” she said.

Although Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is being released today, Calgary fans lined up last night to get their hands on copies that hit shelves at 12:01 this morning.

A street festival at Stephen Avenue Mall also accompanied this morning’s release.

Sarah Tadjdeh was 13 when she read her first Harry Potter book and seven years later, her excitement for the adventures of Potter and his friends have only intensified, she said.

“I had Harry Potter parties growing up ... and I cried with these books,” said Tadjdeh.

“So, yes, I’m really excited.”

Jessica Walper was in junior high school when her mom introduced her to the series, which she fell in love with immediately, she said.

“I liked how different they were,” she said.

“They were more mature than regular kids’ books ... but they still had the magic and the wizardry.”

And although she’s now an adult, for her, Potter has lost none of that magic, she said.

The release of Deathly Hallows poses a problem for Alex Seifert, 16, who’s currently reading the sixth book in the series.

“They’re the only books I have read fully so I don’t know what I’m going to read now,” he said.

Five-year-old Nathaniel Tschupruk said he learned to read just so he could read Harry Potter books.

It was a party atmosphere that book stores don’t often enjoy, as two skids loaded with books were wheeled in and cut into by staff at 12:01 a.m., said Walper.

“I think it’s great that we’re celebrating a book, that we’re celebrating literacy,” said the store manager. “Kids line up for movies, they line up for toys, they don’t line up for books, so this is great.”